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Located between Fremont and Madison counties, it suffered a catastrophic failure on June 5, 1976, as it was filling for the first time. The collapse of Teton Dam killed 11 people [5] and 16,000 livestock. [6] . The dam cost about $100 million to build and the federal government paid over $300 million in claims arising from its failure.
REXBURG — The images of the Teton Dam breaking on June 5, 1976, remain a vivid reminder of the terrifying, but also awe-inspiring, nature of the disaster.
Teton Dam History On June 5, 1976, Teton Dam in southeastern Idaho catastrophically failed. Early that Saturday morning, bulldozer operators tried in vain to plug seepage holes on the downstream face of the dam.
As the world soon learned, the 305-foot-high Teton Dam had broken in half. Its collapse sent a wall of water cascading through the Teton River canyon, north of the town of Newdale in Fremont...
Of the 23 presidentially declared disasters in Idaho, the Teton Dam’s collapse remains the only man-made disaster. This engineering marvel meant to tame flooding along the Teton River and provide additional irrigation failed at 11:57 a.m. on June 5, 1976.
Erupting one peaceful Saturday morning, the failure of this dam destroyed several towns, killed 11 people, drowned over 15,000 heads of livestock, and damaged over $2 billion of property in the area.
On June 5, 1976, Teton Dam in southeastern Idaho catastrophically failed during its first fill. Early that Saturday morning, bulldozer operators tried in vain to plug seepage holes on the downstream face of the dam. By 11 a.m., a torrent of water ripped through the dam, releasing more than 1 million cubic feet per second.
Failure of the Teton Dam and subsequent draining of the reservoir caused the deaths of 11 people and approximately $400 million in damages. On June 3, 1976, two small seeps were observed at the downstream toe of the dam which released clear seepage and measured less than ¼ cfs.
In February of 1972, construction on the planned Teton Dam began in earnest, taking just over four years to fully complete. With a width of about 3,200 feet, the dam contained about 260,000 acre feet of water, covering more than 17 miles of Idaho land.
The Teton Dam Disaster Collection is a compilation of newspaper articles oral histories, accounts received, and published materials. Newspapers from Idaho Falls and Rexburg that reported on the Teton Dam Disaster and aftermath between 1976 and 1977.